Trenton, New Jersey, has been violating people’s civil rights, according to a federal investigation into the city’s police department. The mayor and police chief have now outlined how they will reform the department in response to the findings—and it involves spending more money on policing and hiring more cops. Numerous advocates oppose this, instead proposing alternative investments to reduce violence and make communities safer.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora (D) and Police Director Steve Wilson spoke at a February 28 news conference on how the city is responding to a federal Department of Justice investigation, published in November 2024. The top officials detailed actions the Trenton Police Department has taken, including requiring certain training and internal reviews of complaints—while also calling for increased officer hires and salaries, along with new training programs.
“The absurdity knows no bounds.”
In response, Reverend Dr. Charles F. Boyer, executive director of Salvation and Social Justice (SANDSJ) criticized the city’s direction in a public statement. His organization, a Trenton nonprofit, has helped lead calls for police accountability in New Jersey’s capital.
“Our communities are painfully aware that police agencies are among the few institutions that can be found guilty of gross and routine misconduct, abuse, and violence against the very communities they are tasked to protect and serve and still have the audacity to request and be granted more resources and opportunities to continue their harmful behavior,” he said. “The absurdity knows no bounds.”
Rev. Boyer urged the establishment of a Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB)—an independent body to examine complaints made against the police and issue findings. He called on state lawmakers to pass a law creating these boards statewide, modeled after one established in 2015 in Newark.
He also endorsed lawmakers at the city, state and county levels providing additional funding for community-led crisis response teams as an alternative to police. Finally, he called on the state legislature to pass Senate Bill 2348 to codify a use-of-force directive from the state attorney general.
In August 2024, AG Matthew Platkin (D) issued a revised statewide order for police departments, setting requirements for police to work more closely with mental health professionals in situations involving barricaded individuals and hostages, with guidelines for “tactical disengagement”—where police essentially retreat from a certain situation and call on mental health or other professionals to assist.
Codifying this statewide would help protect cities from police misconduct, Rev. Boyer said, as the Trump administration resists investigating police departments.
“We would like our legislators to do more.”
Surraya Johnson, director of the Criminal Justice Reform Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, explained how advocates are also demanding other changes in state law to reform policing.
“We would like our legislators to do more,” she told Filter. “There have been some bills introduced recently such as one banning the use of excessive force and chokeholds, and the creation of a CCRB. We would also like a move towards eliminating qualified immunity for officers and holding them accountable.”
“Legislators have been somewhat hesitant to advance some policing reforms,” she added. However, “The Seabrooks-Washington Bill is one of those that is putting mental health at the forefront.” That bill, signed by Governor Phil Murphy (D) in 2024, creates and funds non-police emergency responder teams throughout the state.
Problems with Trenton policing have a long history. SANDSJ Policy Director Racquel Romans-Henry explained to Filter that her organization and others helped convene a town hall back in 2023, which saw over 200 local residents show up to testify about their experiences with police abuse.
That helped create the demand which resulted in then-US Attorney Philip R. Sellinger taking action. In October 2023, the DOJ announced a federal “pattern and practice” investigation.
In November, the DOJ concluded its investigation and released a report. It found “reasonable cause to believe that the City of Trenton and the Trenton Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of misconduct that deprives people of their rights under the Fourth Amendment.” The DOJ found that police used excessive force, including use of pepper spray, and conducted unlawful stops, searches and arrests. Since 2021, the city has paid out $7 million in settlements related to residents suing over police misconduct.
“Addressing the pattern or practice of violations we identified requires reforms that go beyond restructuring units.”
After the DOJ’s investigation began, the Trenton Police Department disbanded two street enforcement units, which the DOJ ultimately alleged were committing constitutional violations.
“[Disbanding] the units was not sufficient to end TPD’s pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing,” the DOJ responded in its report. “The violations we found were not limited to the street enforcement units. Additionally, TPD reassigned many of the officers to patrol and some others to a new enforcement unit, where they continue to have daily opportunities to violate the Constitution. Addressing the pattern or practice of violations we identified requires reforms that go beyond restructuring units.”
At the recent press conference, Wilson said that since 2021, all officers have received training in de-escalation and other tactics to prevent harm. On a semi-annual basis, officers receive training on use of force, in-person and vehicle pursuit, and domestic violence. Wilson also said that the department is currently reviewing all use of force and pursuit complaints, something that was ongoing before the DOJ began its investigation.
Officers undergo annual sensitivity, diversity, equity and inclusion training, Wilson added, and the city has a citizen’s police academy where residents can interact with officers. The city also has a partnership with a mental health organization to pair officers with social workers for certain emergency calls.
During the press conference, city officials also outlined plans to hire 30 additional officers and increase salaries, however, as the Trenton Journal reported. And the mayor seemed to resist a demand from community members and a councilmember to establish a CCRB. Mayor Gusciora argued that a CCRB would be redundant and less powerful than the City Council, which has legal authority to subpoena officers during investigations. He instead emphasized better training and accreditation.
“What the community is saying is, they do not feel safe with Trenton police—hard stop. What they want is to see more investments in community-led crisis alternatives.”
Romans-Henry described the city officials’ statements as recycled rhetoric.
“What the community is saying is, they do not feel safe with Trenton police—hard stop,” she told Filter. “What they want is to see more investments in community-led crisis alternatives to policing, addressing some of the root causes of violence in the community—like lack of resources for young people, affordable and quality housing, health care and education, and accountability measures.”
She explained some of the work her organization’s “restorative justice street team” does in trying to prevent violence before it happens—the kind of service she wants the city and state to invest more in, instead of police.
“We work closely in the schools with young people, offering mentorship,” she said. “We work with returning citizens coming home [from prisons and jails] and re-acclimating to life on the outside. We are also responding to instances of violence but doing preemptive work, too—so working with opposing factions in the city and doing our best to mediate conflict before it starts. We’re also working with families who unfortunately have been victim of violent crime.”
Popular programs include “Guns Down, Gloves Up”—a summer youth boxing camp, where children learn about fitness, nutrition and healthy conflict resolution. SANDSJ also holds “restorative circles” at barbershops and hair salons, where city residents can talk through problems together. Even Police Director Wilson, in 2023, largly attributed a major fall in city homicides to “street teams” in Trenton.
“We call them credible messengers, because they are uniquely positioned in both being directly impacted and also from the community.”
Another highly consequential initiative in Trenton could be the launch of a non-police responder team later in 2025. SANDSJ is directly involved in this effort, after receiving a $2 million grant thanks to the Seabrooks-Washington Bill. It should see an unarmed team responding to many crisis calls involving issues like mental health, substance use and homelessness, to de-escalate the situation and connect the person at risk to services or treatment.
“We have established a crisis response unit that will be answering these calls,” Romans-Henry said, “so the person who responds when you are having the worst day of your life is not someone with a badge and a gun but someone from your community who is invested in it. We call them credible messengers, because they are uniquely positioned in both being directly impacted and also from the community.”
Photograph of SANDSJ street team in Trenton via Facebook
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